The National Assembly Building occupies the central position on National Assembly Square in downtown Sofia, Bulgaria. The cornerstone was laid on 4 June 1884. The building was dedicated for service on 25 November of the same year, during the term of the 4th Ordinary National Assembly. It was completed on schedule in 1886.
The National Assembly Building is one of several constructed after liberation to form the government center in Sofia. It was designed by Konstantin Jovanovic, a Serbian-Bulgarian architect, and built by Friederich Wilhelm Gustav Liebe, a young, talented builder from Wittenberg, Prussia, in partnership with his brother in law, Joseph Klein. The inside of the building has been renovated several times, but the Neo-Renaissance exterior remains much the same as it was upon completion.
The national motto, “Съединението Прави Сила,” appears above the front entrance. It can be translated “Unity produces strength.”
Today the unicameral Parliament of the Republic of Bulgaria still uses this building as its home, meeting here regularly while in session.
Though much of Sofia is changing, the picture below shows us that t his small corner of the city is much the same as it has been for the better part of the last century. The police at the bottom left are a sign of the heightened security evident around government buildings everywhere these days. The ubiquitous car traffic is also a common everyday sight.
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